 rmoured
Spearheads are to Space Marine ground assaults what Drop
Pod insertions are to a planetstrike mission: a terrifying
combination of firepower and maneuverability aimed at the
heart of the enemy. The keys to such an assault are overwhelming
firepower and the durability to weather incoming fire and
so it is to the Land Raider — the indomitable behemoth
of the Space Marine armoury — that such duty falls.
Three Land Raiders, guided by the veteran crew of the lead
tank, adopt a spearhead formation, taking care to maximize
fire corridors and provide armour overlap for the vehicles
following behind. The formation then drives breakneck toward
the foe, striking the enemy lines at their strongest point.
Acting with coordination far beyond the best efforts of lesser
humans this bow wave of destruction punches an opening for
the lighter Rhinos and Razorbacks swarming in its wake, allowing
those transports to penetrate deep into the enemy army.
At its inception this combat doctrine was practiced solely
by the Iron Hands and Imperial Fists Chapters, but has since
been adopted across the breadth and depth of the Adeptus
Astartes. Each Armoured Spearhead is assembled according
to battlefield
requirements and the innate biases of the Chapter concerned.
The Black Templars rely heavily on the Crusader variant of
the Land Raider, preferring its dedicated close support role,
whilst siege Chapters such as the Imperial Fists and the
Doom Legion tend to utilise the Helios pattern, whose formidable
firepower is often further enhanced by hunter killer missiles
and additional pintle weaponry. Despite this, the standard
Phobos pattern Land Raider remains the most common element
in an Armoured Spearhead, an accolade guaranteed by its versatile
array of weaponry and a durable design suited to field repair. |
